How I get my Kids to eat Vegetables and Actually Like Them

atJuly 22, 2017

I don’t know about you, but trying to get my kid to eat vegetables is like pulling teeth! I know it is probably not the biggest deal if they don’t eat a ton of vegetables. But, I have to say it is pretty satisfying when you can get your kid to eat something green every so often. Especially when your child usually fights it tooth and nail.

So, how to I get my strong willed child to willingly eat her vegetables?

That’s right, smoothies! We usually have one smoothie per day. They are a great snack or addition to a small meal.

Our favorite vegetable to add to our smoothie is spinach just because the texture isn’t too noticeable in a smoothie. It is also packed with nutrients which makes me feel accomplished as a mother. 🙂 (Click the picture below to see the nutrition information for raw spinach!) If my daughter is helping me make the smoothies she is always sure we don’t forget the “leaves”!

If you are just starting out making smoothies this is a good combo to follow. Once you have made one you can change it as you wish.

Smoothie Combo

1 Cup fruits (2 if you want it to be more sweet)

1 Cup vegetables

1 Cup ice (we use less so there are no chunks of ice)

1-2 Cups water or milk

Add yogurt for thickness and flavor if you wish

Now it is up to you to mix the fruits and veggies of your choice! Here are some kid friendly ideas for fruits and veggies to add to your smoothies. (I say kid friendly meaning it doesn’t have a super bitter taste or weird texture.)

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What do we use to make and drink our smoothies?

We use this handheld mixer to blend our smoothies in a big cup. I then divide them out into the Kid’s Mini CamelBak. I love these for the kid’s smoothies because there is literally NO MESS! They also have several different cute kid’s designs. Check them all out here!

I usually make my smoothies fresh and on the spot. However, that can make for a lot of clean up everyday. One way you can cut down on the time it takes to make and clean up smoothies is to make smoothie packs.

To do this, pick a day when you have a little extra time. Wash, cut, and or peel all of your fruits and vegetables that you plan to use for smoothies. Measure and divide the fruits and veggies into zip lock bags and stick them in the refrigerator or freezer.

This will save you time because you are prepping and cleaning one time rather than having to do it each day. Also, by doing this, your food is less likely to go bad as you can stick it in the freezer for later use.

When you are ready to make a smoothie, all you have to do is grab a smoothie pack, add ice and liquid and blend. Less prep and less clean up!

“But smoothies can be expensive!”

There are several ways you can keep your smoothie expenses to a minimum. Here is what I do to save money on smoothies.

Buy fruits and veggies at your local Farmer’s Market. We went to the Farmer’s Market last weekend and bought 15 bananas for $1. ONE DOLLAR! That is enough for 15 smoothies! If you stock up on fruits and veggies at the Farmer’s Market you will have plenty to go ahead and prep and freeze for later. This saves you money and time!

Buy in season. Sometimes fruits and veggies can be a lot more expensive than others. Check out this website to see what produce is in season by month. When you buy “in season” your produce will be much cheaper!

Stick with a few recipes at a time. One bag of spinach will usually last me a few weeks. If we try to use too many different veggies in our smoothies we never finish the bag of spinach. I try to stick with the same recipes for a while in order to buy less and use up all of our ingredients.

Freeze your fruits and veggies. Rather than letting fruits and vegetables go bad, freeze them to use for smoothies later. We let so much food go to waste because we let it go bad!

If you are interested in trying other smoothie recipes, I highly recommend visiting Simple Green Smoothies. They have every recipe under the sun and then some more.

You can also find more recipes, tips, and tricks on getting your toddler to eat over on my Pinterest board My Toddler Eats.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed this post! If you found it useful, please sign up to receive more tips and tricks directly to your inbox!

18 Comments

Sara

This has come at a perfect time for me. I can’t get my daughter to even look at a vegetable! But she loves getting fruit smoothies when we go out, hopefully I can sneak in a veggie!

13 . Jul . 2017

bcooper

Yes! If you blend it really well you can’t even tell the spinach is in there! Let me know how it goes! 🙂

14 . Jul . 2017

Lindsey

Love your tips!! My little one is not a fan of most veggies, so this was super helpful!

14 . Jul . 2017

bcooper

I am so glad that you found it helpful! Let me know how it goes!

14 . Jul . 2017

Marissa | DIYtified

I will definitely be trying this! My kids used to eat well and eat their veggies but lately, it’s been very hard to get them to eat veggies. Raw carrots is the best we get.

15 . Jul . 2017

bcooper

Mine did too! Now they refuse! My daughter chewed up a carrot and held it in her mouth all afternoon. We finally realized she never swallowed it! Stubborn!

16 . Jul . 2017

Julia Dale

Love this! A timely and perfect read for tris mother of a picky 3 year old – I cannot wait to try the recipes! Thank you for sharing.

17 . Jul . 2017

bcooper

Great! Enjoy!

17 . Jul . 2017

Jenny

I love smoothies & that’s a brilliant idea for getting veggies into your kids. I used to steam & puree them (like babyfood) & then hide them in all kinds of things. I did spinach in brownies, cauliflower in everything, and carrots in mac & cheese. It always made me feel like mom of the year. 😉

17 . Jul . 2017

bcooper

Great idea! I will be trying this tomorrow in our blueberry muffins!!

18 . Jul . 2017

Gabbing Ginger

I love putting spinach in smoothies too! Love these ideas!

18 . Jul . 2017

bcooper

So good! Thank you! 🙂

18 . Jul . 2017

Shari Dawson Shearer

I may have to use these recipes to hide vegetables for myself lol!

18 . Jul . 2017

bcooper

Haha!! I do drink them myself as well!! But I love vegetables!

18 . Jul . 2017

Amanda @ Little Mager House

I make smoothies with greens every morning for my kids and me. They slurp them down within minutes, too! And they fight over who gets to help me push the buttons on the blender! Great tips!

19 . Jul . 2017

bcooper

Love it!! Win win!

20 . Jul . 2017

kerry@bloomingbeautifulmama

Love these! My little boy is only 1, I have been buying ready made smoothies….why have i not just made my own?! So much cheaper!

20 . Jul . 2017

bcooper

Yes! Sometimes it is nice to have them already prepared so I like to prepare a few batches at a time!…when I have time!